TdF - 1935 - Romain Maes Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Romain Maes (18 August 1913 in Zerkegem– 22 February 1983 in Groot-Bijgaarden) was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the leaders yellow jersey from beginning to end.
Maes was the 13th child in his family. He started racing when he was 17. He turned professional in 1933 and won the Omloop van het Westen (Tour of the West). The following year he started the Tour de France and twice finished stages in second place. He then crashed on the day from Digne to Nice and left the race in an ambulance.
His win in 1935 ended a six-year run by French riders. He was a national hero in Belgium.
His older brother Sylvere would go on to win the 1936 Tour.
The Tour de France
The Tour de France is a cycling stage race held since 1903 over a current period of three weeks, although it was not staged from 1914 to 1918 and from 1940 to 1946, because of the World Wars.
French cyclists have been the most successful in the event, having won 36 of the 98 tours, although their last champion was in 1985. They are followed by Belgian riders, who have won 18, including 7 consecutive titles from 1912 to 1922. Cyclists from Spain have won 13 events. Cyclists from The United States of America have won 10 events, all coming from LeMond and Armstrong.
In total, cyclists from 12 countries have won the Tour de France.
During the Tour's history, its organisers have launched a series of other jerseys. In 1933, the race's best climbers were rewarded with the King of the Mountains competition, but it was not until 1975 that the leading rider in the classification wore the distinctive polka dot jersey. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race in 1953, the green jersey competition was started. It rewarded the consistent finishers in individual stages by awarding points depending on the place in the stage. In 1975, the Tour organisers launched an award for the leading young cyclist, awarding a white jersey to the leading cyclist under 26 years of age in the general classification.
The first Australian to win the Tour was Cadel Evans in 2011 after being runner-up in 2007 & 2008
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)